Process for making food sandwich

ABSTRACT

Preparation of a food sandwich consisting of a filling in a thin-walled bun with a hole extending into the bun along and adjacent to the filling so that flavoring material inserted into the hole will be in contact with the filling. A thin sheet of dough is wrapped around the filling and an adjacent skewer so that one end of the skewer protrudes from the dough. After cooking, the skewer is removed to produce the hole for the flavoring material.

United States Patent Allen [151 3,656,966 1451 Apr. 16,1972

1541 PROCESS FOR MAKING FOOD 'SANDWICH [.7 2] Inventor: Donald F. Allen,Racine, Wis. [73] Assignee: Ki-Ada of America, IncL, Racine, Wis. 22Filed: July 14, 1969 [21] Appl. No.: 841,497

[52] US. Cl .....99/87, 99/88 [51] Int. Cl. ..A21d13/ 00v [58] Field ofSearch ..99/87, 88; 107/1 F, l G, 54 D, 107/19 A, 19 D [56] 5 ReferencesCited UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 1,543,650 6/1925 'Lyons..l....-... ..99/871,589,850 6/1926 Haskell ..99/87 1,492,603 5/1924 Matson ..99/87XPrimary Examiner-Raymond N. Jones Assistant Examiner-James R. HoffmanAtt0mey-Arthur J. Hansmann [57] ABSTRACT 4 Claims, 7 Drawing FiguresPATENTEDAPR 18 I972 3, 656, 968

[NI EN TOR. DUN/4M FALLEN TORNE) PROCESS FOR MAKING-FOOD SANDWICHBACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION This invention has particular application toweiner sandwiches, so it is described relative thereto. Wiener or hotdogtypes of sandwich, and other food sandwiches, are commonly known andvery popular in todays food market. However, most of these sandwichescontain a large quantity of bun, compared to the quantity of meat orother filling, and it is undesirable to eat the large quantity of bun,bothfrom a dietary standpoint and a taste standpoint. Further, most meatsandwiches known today are formed with a bun which does not securelyretain the liquid flavoring material, such as ketchup. In these commontypes of meat sandwiches or hotdogs, when one is eating the sandwich,the ketchup or the like tends to spill out.

Improvements upon the aforementioned sandwiches are shown in U.S. Pat.Nos. 1,492,603 and 1,975,031. However, in those patented sandwichesthere is still a large quantity of bun compared to the quantity ofwiener or meat. Also, those patented sandwiches either do not providefor flavoring material, or they do not retain the liquid type offlavoring material in a manner to preclude spilling the flavoring, suchas the ketchup, from the sandwich. Still further, the prior art,sandwiches do not provide the compact, tasty, and quickly and easilymade sandwiches shown in this document. Still further, the prior artsandwiches are not made by a process as convenient as that disclosed inthis document, and the prior art sandwiches can not be mass producedandare not as tasty but yet inexpensive as the sandwich of this invention.

Accordingly, the objects and advantages of this invention are to providea food sandwich which has a minimum quantity of bun compared to thequantity of filling. Further, the object and advantage of this inventionis to provide a tasty sandwich which can be quickly and readily made, tosupply requirements in large volumes and upon a moments notice. Stillfurther, the object and advantage of this invention is to provide a foodsandwich which can contain a liquid type flavoring material, such asketchup, and not have the ketchup squirt or spill from the sandwich whenthe sandwich is being handled or eaten. Still further, it is an objectof this invention to provide a process for making the sandwich of thetype heretofore referred to, and particularly to make a sandwich whichis processed by cooking the sandwich in a bath of oil, to provide a foodsandwich which has very unique, delicious, and tasty characteristics.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top plan view of one moldpiece'used in making the food sandwich.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of another mold piece.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the mold piece of FIG. 2, but with thedough, a wiener, and skewer added.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3, but with thetop layer of dough added.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the meat sandwich prior to cooking.

FIG. 6 is an end view of the meat sandwich after it is cooked and withthe skewer removed. 1

FIG. 7 is a top plan of the cooked meat sandwich, and with the meatflavoring dispenser shown therewith.

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2 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRODUCT AND PROCESS The meat sandwich ispreferably a hotdog or wiener type, so will therefore be described inthat regard, as shown in the drawings. FIGS. 1 and 2 respectively showthe mold halves l0 and 11 which are substantially the same size andwhich mate together. The mold half can be considered to be the upperhalf, and it has alignment pins 12 which fit into the holes 13 in thepiece 11-, which can be considered to be the lower half. The piece 10has a mold cavity 14, and the piece 11 has a similar mold cavity 16.Further, mold half 10 has a second cavity 17, and the mold half 11 hasits second cavity 18, and the cavities 17 and 18 are shown to betapered, and they both terminate on the exterior of the mold, as shownat locations 19 and 21, respectively, on the mold pieces 10 and 11. Thecavities described are also considered to be pockets, and it willtherefore be seen that the mold halves can be placed together when theupper half 10 is inverted to cover the lower half 11, and the pocket forthe meat is the larger pocket formed by the cavities 14 and 16, and itwill then also be understood that the pockets 17 and 18 form one largerpocket which is contiguous to the meat pocket, for a purpose describedlater.

FIG. 3 shows mold lower half 11 covered by a thin layer of uncooked butedible dough 22, and the dough itself forms a cavity or pocket 23 as thedough rests snugly in the mold cavity or pocket 16. The meat, shown inthe form of a wiener 24 is also shown in FIG. 3, and it substantiallyfully occupies the pocket 23, and in fact the wiener 24 extends abovethe upper mold surface 26, as shown in FIG. 4. Finally, FIG. 3 alsoshows a tapered skewer 27 which is laid over the dough 22 and in thepocket 28 formed by the dough 22' being snug in the mold cavity orpocket 18.

FIG. 4 then shows that the meat and skewer are covered by a layer ofdough, and designated 29. The meat is therefore fully enclosed orencapsulated by the thin layer of dough, such as shown in the two layers22 and 29, and the skewer is also encapsulated by the dough, except forthe projecting end 31, as shown in FIG. 5. The thin layers of dough, asindicated 22 and 29, have their edges, as shown at 32, extending overthe mold face 26. Molds 10 and 11 have cooperating knives and grooves,such as the knife 33 on the mold l0 and the mating groove 34 on mold 11.Thus when the dough layer 29 is placed in the cavity 14 and over thesurface of the mold 10, and the mold 10 is inverted or brought to matingposition with the mold 11, the dough layer 29 is positioned toencapsulate the wiener 24 and to enclose most of the skewer 27. At thetime that themold pieces 10 and 11 are pressed together, the assembly ofthe layers of dough, the meat, and the skewer, are all tightlycompressed so that there is virtually no air or space inside the layersof dough 22 and 29. At the same time, the dough is trimmed along theextending edges 32, so that the resulting product is somewhat as shownin FIG. 5 with the minimum of extending edge 36 around the compressedassembly described.

Prior to cooking, the wiener and skewer hold the assembly in a conditionwhich permits it to be handled without support from the mold, and theentire assembly can then be immersed in a bath of cooking oil which isnot shown but is of the common and well-known process of frying in hotoil of a temperature of approximately 375 Fahrenheit.

The meat, such as the wiener 24, is preferably pre-cooked, so it is notfurther cooked in the oil, though the dough itself is completely cookedinto a bun, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. Actually, FIGS. 6 and 7 somewhatexaggerate the edge 36 which would remain after the cooking, but theseviews are shown that way for descriptive purposes to identify with theremainder of the drawings of the dough prior to cooking. That is, itwill be understood that the cooked bun will assume a more cylindricalshape, and the edges 36 will not be as pronounced and sharp as shown inFIGS. 6 and 7.

After the cooking described, the skewer 27 can be easily withdrawn fromthe cooked bun, referenced 37 in FIGS. 6 and 7, and this leaves theinlet opening 38 which is actually a continuation of the pocket in thebun as formed by the cavities l7 and 18 in the mold pieces. The pocketextends in contact with the wiener 24, as indicated in FIG. 7 andidentified by numeral 39. Thus meat flavoring material, such as theketchup 41, indicated in FIG. 7, can be injected into the pocket 39 andwill therefore be in contact with the meat 24. A material flavoringdispenser 42 is shown for placing the sauce, ketchup, or other liquidflavoring or the like into the pocket 39. It will be understood that thedispenser 42 can be completely inserted into the pocket 39 to the lowerend of 43, and then gradually withdrawn as the flavoring material itselfis deposited in the pocket 39 and throughout the length of the pocket39.

The resulting product is the hotdog or wiener sandwich with a minimum ofbun and with a very easily handled sandwich which will not spill theliquid meat flavoring, and the flavoring is placed in contact with themeat. The thickness of the bun is no greater than one-fourth thediameter or thickness of the wiener 24, as the two ingredients are shownin FIG. 4. This provides for only a very minimum of bun compared to thequantity of meat. In actual practice, the dough layers 22 and 29 may berolled out, and they are approximately one-sixteenth of an inch thickprior to the cooking or frying process mentioned. Also, the skewer 27extends for substantially the full length of the wiener 24, and it maybe to within perhaps inch from the far end of the wiener 24, asindicated in FIG. 7. The meat flavoring may include solids, such aschopped onions, pickles, egg, as well as liquids of the ketchup andother sauce type. Still further, the pocket 39, as shaped by the taperedskewer 27, is tapered so that the sauce can be placed into the pocket 39without trapping air therein as the sauce runs down one side or walldefining the pocket 39 and air can escape along the other side, allfacilitated by the tapered shape of the pocket 39. With the preparedproduct as shown in FIG. 5, the cooking time is two minutes or less, andobviously the number of sandwiches that can be cooked in the cooking oilat the same time depends on the size of the container the cooking oil iscontained in.

Of course in actual production of the sandwich, and in the process ofmaking it, the mold would be a production type machine where one couldplace the layer of dough 22 over a lower mold half, place the wiener 24and skewer 27, as shown in FIG. 3, and then place the dough layer 29over the top, or simply fold an extending end of the lower layer 22 overthe top, as shown in FIG. 4. Then an upper mold half could be pivotallymounted to be swung downwardly into the pressing and cutting positiondescribed, so that the ingredients would be provided in the form shownin FIG. 5. Whatever the actual mold or mechanical items be for formingthe pre-cooked sandwich of FIG. 5, the significance is that the twochambers, the meat chamber 23 and the meat flavoring chamber 28 arecontiguous, and the flavoring is easily contained in the resulting meatflavoring chamber 39 and the thickness of the bun is only that which issufiicient to hold the wiener 24 and the flavoring 41 in contact witheach other without squirting or spilling out.

The references to meat sandwich also include fish and other food.However, the process described fundamentally cooks the dough, and at thesame time it at least warms the meat.

Also, while the foregoing describes meat as the filling material, thefood filling may be non-meat, such as cooked ap' ples or other fruit.Then, ice cream or other suitable filling flavoring can be inserted intothe contigious chamber 39 for flavoring the apples or other food in thechamber 23.

What is claimed is:

1. A process of making a food sandwich, comprising the steps of placingfood filling and a skewer in contact with each other, forming the doughrelative to the food filling and skewer to have only one end of theskewer extend exteriorly of the dough and to have the food fillingcompletely encapsulated by the dough, cooking the dough with the foodfilling and skewer therein, removing the skewer from the cooked doughthereby forming a pocket contiguous to the food filling and with thepocket 0 enin to the exterior of the cooked dough by the removaP of eskewer, placing food filling flavoring material into the pocket and incontact with the food filling.

2. The sandwich making process of claim 1, including the steps ofrolling the dough into a thin layer prior to enclosing the food fillingand skewer with the dough, pressing the dough against the food fillingand skewer to form a compact assembly of the food filling and skewer anddough, and cooking the dough by deep frying in a bath of cooking oil.

3. The sandwich making process of claim 2, including the steps ofplacing the rolled dough in a mold piece having a cavity to cover thecavity with the dough, placing the food filling onto the dough in thecavity, pressing the assembly into compact form by pressing another moldpiece against the first mold piece and simultaneously trimming the doughin its extend beyond the cavity.

4. The sandwich making process of claim 1, including the steps ofproviding a thin layer of said dough, using an elongated meat wiener assaid food filling, wrapping said wiener and said skewer with said thinlayer of dough, and pressing said dough tightly against said wiener andsaid skewer prior to cooking.

2. The sandwich making process of claim 1, including the steps ofrolling the dough into a thin layer prior to enclosing the food fillingand skewer with the dough, pressing the dough against the food fillingand skewer to form a compact assembly of the food filling and skewer anddough, and cooking the dough by deep frying in a bath of cooking oil. 3.The sandwich making process of claim 2, including the steps of placingthe rolled dough in a mold piece having a cavity to cover the cavitywith the dough, placing the food filling onto the dough in the cavity,pressing the assembly into compact form by pressing another mold pieceagainst the first mold piece and simultaneously trimming the dough inits extent beyond the cavity.
 4. The sandwich making process of claim 1,including the steps of providing a thin layer of said dough, using anelongated meat wiener as said food filling, wrapping said wiener andsaid skewer with said thin layer of dough, and pressing said doughtightly against said wiener and said skewer prior to cooking.